Q&A
SUPER FARMERS?
ePers
Super
boeren
fe
Brazil celebrates
new rural bank
Europe
Netherlands
Americas
RIIN
Head ofCWDG
Q
Q
Q
Q
Rabobank's London-based Commodity Weather
Derivatives Group (CWDG) has completed various
hedging transactions for the bank's corporate
clients around the world. Head ofCWDG, Domenic
Carratu, talked to The Word about the group.
A We're a GFM unit, so our clients are Rabobank's
corporate clients. These are largely international
Food and Agribusiness clients, based in the US,
Asia, Australia, Europe, South America and elsewhere.
A Our main focus is hedging exposure to soft
commodities, plus energy hedging and carbon
emission rights.
A Our clients appreciate dealing with a triple A
bank, so we're seeing more genuine business
opportunities than ever. But markets are more
difficult, and it is harder to lay off risk.
A We recently completed our first ever biodiesel
proxy hedge with leading Italian biodiesel
producer Fox Petroli. And we completed our
first energy trade in the Southern Hemisphere,
helping New Zealand fïshing giant Sealord
manage its exposure to bunker fuel prices. What
makes these a real success is how closely we
cooperated with our colleagues across Rabobank.
According to an article in De Pers,
a Dutch daily newspaper, Rabobank
has emerged as the biggest
winner from the credit crisis in the
Netherlands. 'The days when the little
Rabobank farmers were laughed at by
the hotshots at ABN AMRO, Fortis and
ING are history," writes the newspaper.
Raymond Salet, Rabobank's Chief
Press Officer, is quoted saying: "We
are naturally extremely proud that
so far we have been able to sail
safely through this stormy weather,
although it's not our intention to
harm our competitors. That is a thin
line we must not cross."
The Varginha branch of Rabobank
Brazil's rural banking network moved
to a new office on 13 November 2008.
Clients from the region and Rabobank
staff, including Ralf Dekker, member
of the Managing Board of Rabobank
International, attended an event
celebrating the move.
Varginha, in the south of Brazil's Minas
Gerais state, is located in one of the
country's most important coffee
Maak
plaats voor
Michelle
„5
ooO Dagblad
lr> de bankwereld werd altijd
ee,-, beetje smalend op/eneer
gekpken: de boertjes van Itabo.
Erisintorte tijd een hoop
veranderd. "Saai is het
nieuwe seny.'
m
till UOU drop
[;rote uitverkoop
Obama? De Bijlmer
heeft zijn eigen ding 500.
&w*UEFA-«vond
producing regions. Coffee has long
been a significant part of Brazilian
agribusiness, and the country is the
world's leading coffee exporter -
accounting for one-third of global coffee
production. Coffee producers represent
the vast majority of clients served by
Rabobank's Varginha office, which is
one of 12 Rabobank rural banking offices
spread across central and southeast
Brazil.
Ralf Dekker, member of the Managing Board of Rl.
ISSUE 18
fHE WORD